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The prevalence of HIV infection was assessed in about 160 people (healthy and sick) in Maiduguri, Nigeria. Three hospitals were used as the study sites. They are the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, chest disease Hospital and TB Hospital all in Maiduguri Nigeria. Medical questionnaires were filled by each of the subjects, before their blood samples were collected. The subjects were divided into four groups i.e., apparently healthy controls (group 1), condition apparently unrelated to HIV disease (group 2), conditions suggestive of early HIV disease (group 3) and conditions indicative of progressive HIV disease (group 4). Forty subjects were allocated to each of the four groups based on the reports from the medical questionnaires. The 160 blood samples (the four groups) were screened for HIV and their results recorded. The percentage HIV infection among the different age groups in the four groups were also recorded. From the results obtained 12.5% of the apparently healthy controls (group 1) were HIV positive, 22.5% of the condition apparently unrelated to HIV disease were positive, 30% of the condition suggestive of early HIV disease were positive and 60% of the condition indicative of progressive HIV disease were also positive. It can be concluded that prevalence of HIV among apparently healthy persons particularly the young, is now very high and some conditions not associated with HIV infection may indeed be the result of HIV infection.

The prevalence of HIV neonatal infection amongst babies born to HIV positive parents in Maiduguri North-Eastern Nigeria was studied. About 240 patients were used for this study. The patients include new born babies, their fathers and mothers. The study site was University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. About 5 mL venous blood sample was collected from the patients after obtaining their consent. These blood samples were screened for HIV antibodies. From the results obtained, 22.5% of the babies were HIV positive, 100% of their fathers and mothers were HIV positive. These results show that the prevalence of HIV neonatal infection amongst babies born to HIV positive parents is low in Maiduguri, Nigeria. It is therefore recommended that further studies be carried out to ascertain what protects the babies from being infected with the HIV virus while still in the womb. This would help in managing the HIV/AIDS pandemic world wide.

The effect of different doses of Black caraway oil on the Liver enzymes (i.e., alkaline phosphatase, aspartate amino transferase and alanine amino transferase) of alloxan-induced diabetic rats was studied. Forty white male albino rats of the winster strain weighing between 125-215 g were used. They were divided into eight groups. Diabetes was induced in the experimental rats with alloxan (70 mg kg-1 body weight). Group 1 rats served as the normal control, group II served as the caraway control whereas group III served as the diabetic control. Groups IV to VIII were the test groups. They were administered various doses of caraway oil ranging from 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg kg-1 body weight respectively. The experiment lasted for a period of 10 weeks. The following liver enzymes were assayed: Aspartate Amino Transferase (ASAT), Alanine Amino Transferase (ALAT) and alkaline phosphatase. Histopathology was also done for the liver. The results showed that the levels of the liver marker enzymes were significantly high (p<0.05) in the treatment groups administered with black caraway oil at 20, 40 and 80 mg kg-1 body weight. This is also evident in the histopathological analysis of the liver. Due to the fact that the liver marker enzymes were not significantly elevated at 10 mg kg-1 body weight and also that the histopathology of the liver did not show any sign of tissue damage at that concentration, the black caraway oil is said to be safe at 10 mg kg-1 body weight.

The effect of different doses of Black caraway (Carum carvi L.) oil on the body weights of alloxan-induced diabetic rats was studied. Forty white male albino rats of the Winster strain weighing between 145-240 g were used for this study. Diabetes was induced in the experimental rats with alloxan (70 mg kg-1 body weight). Group 1 rats served as the normal control, group 2 served as the caraway control, whereas group 3 rats served as the diabetic control. Groups 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 were the test groups. All the test groups were administered various doses of the black caraway oil ranging from 5, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mg kg-1 body weights, respectively. Group 2 (the caraway control) rats were administered 10 mg kg-1 body weight of black caraway oil. The duration of the experiment was 10 weeks. The weights of the animals in each group were recorded daily throughout the duration of the experiment. The blood glucose levels in the different groups were assayed. The results show that the normal control, the caraway control and the diabetic rats treated with 10 mg kg-1 body weight of black caraway oil showed progressive and steady increase in the % mean weekly body weights, while the diabetic untreated rats and the other test groups showed decreasing and alternating increments, respectively in the % mean weekly body weights. The blood glucose level in the 10 mg caraway treatment group was significantly reduced (p< 0.01) compared to the diabetic control and the other treatment groups. This shows that the black caraway oil increases the % mean weekly body weights of the diabetic/non-diabetic rats at a dose not more than 10 mg kg-1 body weight. It can also be inferred that the 10 mg kg-1 body weight of caraway oil is the safe dose that can be used in managing Diabetes mellitus. The information obtained from this study would be used in the management of diabetic patients.

Pregnant mice were examined to determine whether or not they transmitted Plasmodium berghei to their fetuses. On the 14th day of pregnancy, mice were inoculated with approximately 3x106P. berghei infected red blood cells by intraperitoneal injection. The parasitemia in 20 adult females and 145 neonates was assessed using thin blood films fixed with methanol and stained with 10% giemsa solution. The average parasitemia of females at delivery was 7.5%. Malaria parasites were microscopically confirmed in 8 of the 145 neonates. Maternal parasitemia at the time of delivery was not correlated with the incidence of vertical infection (8.71%). Present study showed that this model may be used to examine vertical transmission of malaria.